Sittin 'n Knittin

musings on knitting, family and life in general

Sunday, August 27, 2006

Haircuts and Happiness

Last month when both T and GW* needed haircuts, T decided 'we' should get one of those home clippers and do The Boys'** haircuts at home. I survived the first round, and this morning managed to survive round 2. T doesn't look half bad! Apparently a new talent I never would have discovered on my own. But still anxiety-inducing, for me. I just keep telling myself it increases my yarn budget!

The happiness bit? Today, T, GW and I drove into Manhattan and saw Beauty and the Beast on Broadway. The happiness began when I got tickets half price from some discount online spot yesterday morning. You see, I'm a bit of a theatre nut*** and it's tough to live a little over an hour out of Manhattan and see so few shows....this is the third since moving to Connecticut 2-1/2 years ago. GW did so well for a 3-1/2 year old. His first Broadway show! Brings tears to this mother's eyes. Most of dinner and the drive home he kept saying, "My favorite part of Beauty and the Beast is..." And as if that wasn't enough, we found parking about 10 blocks from the theatre. On the street. FOR FREE. Legal, even. The garage a block away? $27 something plus tax.

Oh, you're here for knitting content? I did manage to complete 4 rows of Kiri on the drive down and back, before the ambient light became insufficient. I'm beginning to think I was a bit 'round the bend when I decided to do Kiri on size 4's...I'm up to somewhere around 355 stitches per row, on my 12th pattern repeat and I think I'll be going about 17 or 18 repeats to get my desired size and I'm adding 24 stitches per repeat....argh! The math boggles my mind....I'm probably better off not knowing how many stitches I 'get' to purl every WS row...Yes this IS my first major lace project. I really do love it, and hope I haven't completely lost it to think I can WEAR it to this charity event T and I work every year. It's Columbus Day weekend. What do you think? I'm also hoping to finish Something Ecru next weekend and cast-on my KSKS socks...sigh. So much knitting, so little time.

I'm off to purl my way into dreamland...

*Henceforth, GW, my sparkly 3 year old, airplane obsessed child, will be known as Flyboy
**I often refer to my husband, T and Flyboy as My Boys; borrowed from my mother who refers to my brother and father in this manner, something I find quite endearing
***I once stood in line for 5 hours for a return ticket to the Phantom of the Opera matinee in London's West End, got out of that and had approximately 40 minutes to eat something and get to the evening performance of Les Miserables. Yes, both in the same day. Seriously.

Friday, August 25, 2006

Late to the Party

Um, hi. My name is Anne. I'm a Podcastaholic. I kept hearing about this podcast and that from various... enablers. Finally, I gave in. Today. I downloaded Lime & Violet. And Cast-On. All of them. Let's not talk about how many....episodesI have listened to today, OK? But what I'm really worried about is this: once I make it through all these episodes, with only one new episode each per week, then how do I get my fix? I'm not ready to look through that door just yet...gulp.

In actual knitting news, I continue to plug away at Something Red and Kiri.

Something...Ecru?


Did I hear you ask what yarn I am using? Why, I'd be happy to tell you. I bought 4 of these:
Ugly Cabled Cotton Shrug, Old Navy, 3 in size XXL, one in XL (above) for $5.97 each. Gotta love the bonus yardage for bigger sizes! All have been ripped and I'm gonna have a buch of yarn left over. I'm hoping enough to do CeCe, but definitely enough for at least a couple baby sweaters. The cotton is really yummy! I am contemplating overdying, but not sure yet.

Kiri
I've completed 11 or 12 repeats and continue to love the pattern. But still looking for the Purling Fairies....the wrong side is a bit tedious. Yet I persevere because I love it so!

Just a few more rows on the cardi, then off to dreamland...

KSKS Kit Arrived!

My kit arrived the other day, from Lori in Texas (sadly blogless)!!


The bag pattern is her own, and the beautiful yarn is hand-dyed superwash in a beautiful violet colorway. You don't see it skeined, because as soon as I ripped into the box and saw the yarn and the Falling Leaves pattern I pulled out T's scientific scale to wind up 2 balls of equal weight. You will also note not one but TWO Addi Turbo 16" size 0's. That's right--I'm going for my first attempt at 2 socks at once.

The Clover Knit Mate has all the bits that I am forever losing or forgetting to pick up! There are some beaded stitch markers that will be put to good use, and another pattern, Fancy Ribbed Dogs from 3 Trails Handknit Designs . It takes sportweight sock yarn, of which I currently have none, so....I wonder if I'll last until Rhinebeck......

Thanks, Lori! I sure appreciate the generosity. Look for photos of the WIP soon!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

50 Things

1. First Name? Anne
2. Were you named after anyone? My mom’s name is Elizabeth Anne, but everyone used to call her Annie, so she named me Anne Elizabeth...and started going by Liz
3. Last time you cried? Wow. I honestly can’t remember...must have been in some movie. I always cry in movies, even stupid, sappy ones
4. Do you like your handwriting? My handwriting is atrocious and getting worse
5. What is your favorite lunch meat? Genoa salami
6. Do you have kids? only the sweetest, most polite 3-1/2 year old boy around!
7. Would you be friends with you if you were someone else? I’l like to hope I would be!
8. Do you keep a journal? no
9. Do you tend toward sarcasm? Sarcasm? No...we don’t have that around here (wink wink)
10. Do you still have your tonsils? Yes. And my wisdom teeth!
11. Would you bungee jump? already have--at the home of Bungy, Kawarau Bridge in Queenstown, NZ back in 1994
12. What’s your favorite cereal? Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch, but I never buy it
13. Do you untie your shoes before you take them off? I have Birkenstocks, clogs, a pair that zip up, and sandals...I do unzip, but I don’t unbuckle the sandals
14. Are you strong? Sadly, not as strong as once upon a time physically. Emotionally, very strong
15. What is your favorite ice cream? Ben & Jerry’s Cookie Dough Fro Yo
16. Shoe size? 8 US, 39 or 40 European
17. What do you like least about yourself? I am a world-class procrastinator
18. Who do you miss the most? The couple that introduced me and my husband, Jeff & Rachel. They spent a couple years in Thailand, now they are back in Northern California--complete opposite side of the country
19. Do you want this sent back to you? I snagged this off someone else’s blog, but I love to read them, so if anyone does this after reading in on my blog, leave a comment so I can read yours
20. What color pants and shoes are you wearing right now? grey knit cotton lounging pants, bare feet
21. Last thing you ate? A banana
22. What are you listening to right now? Lazytown--The Boy is watching Noggin
23. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? Cadet Blue
24. Favorite smell? I bought some purple basil at the farmer’s market this weekend, and the smell when I opened the bag at home was amazing! I love natural scents much more than fake or perfumely/chemical smells
25. Last person you talked to on the phone? Jane, my intrepid work supervisor
26. First thing you notice about someone of the opposite sex? If they are facing me, eyes/hair
27. Do you like the person who sent this to you? I borrowed it from Susie’s blog, and I enjoy reading it...
28. Favorite drink? Decaf, non-fat caffe latte...or a really well-made Cosmo
29. Favorite sport? Curling!
30. Eye color? Hazel, but they change depending on what color I am wearing. They can also look green, blue and grey
31. Hat size? Huh?
32. Do you wear contacts? Yes. For 14 years. Ugh.
33. Favorite food? Fruit of every type...or dark chocolate anything...but my real answer should probably be either Saag Paneer or Pad Thai...
34. Scary movie or happy ending? I’m a sap for happy endings, but every once in a while I like me a good scary movie
35. Last movie you saw at a movie theater? You, Me and DuPree
36. What color shirt are you wearing? Vintage white T shirt from the Cannes Film Festival (wait, how old does it have to be to qualify as vintage? I bought it at the festival in...1995, does that count?)
37. Summer or winter? Neither--I am all about fall! I guess being born on the equinox makes me biased...
38. Hugs or kisses? Both, but nothing beats a really good, lingering hug from a hubby and a 3 year old at the same time
39. Favorite dessert? Homemade cheesecake with a strained raspberry puree drizzled on top
40. Who is most likely to respond? No idea
41. Least likely to respond? everyone?
42. What books are you reading? Janet Evanovich’s Full series
43. What’s on your mousepad? I use my right thigh, no mousepad
44. What did you watch on TV last night? Miami Ink
45. Favorite sounds? My son’s laugh. It’s infectious!
46. Rolling Stones or Beatles? Beatles, natch
47. The furthest you’ve been from home? Siem Reap, Cambodia to see Angkor Wat
48. What’s your special talent? re-directing a 3 year old to prevent the fit/temper tantrum/begging scene
49. Where were you born? Duluth, MN
50. Who sent this to you? Nobody. I saw it on several other blogs and thought it would be a good thing on a new blog to give a bit of an idea of who I am!

Monday, August 07, 2006

Mission: Completed!





This is the KSKS kit I sent off to Emmy last week>>>

I had such an amazing time putting this together, and her reaction made it all worth while.

the two bags are my 2nd and 3rd sewn objects since college and I am quite pleased with how they turned out. I just may have to drag the sewing machine out more often!








Since so many people in their KSKS questionnaires complained about their DPN's piercing through their purses and project bags, I devised these pockets to hold the ends in place and allow the WIP to hang down into the bag. The pocket on the left side has velcro on top.




The yarn is "Summer at the Lake", custom dyed by the lovely Scout just for my pal. The Bear* did not want to give it up, but I won the wrestling match and off it went!

All photos taken at my parent's lake place in Cloquet, MN home of the only Frank Lloyd Wright designed gas station on the planet, and where almost all Diamond matches are made. Yes, folks, that's what I'm good at--completely useless information that may get me a few points during trivia nite at the local pub, but not much else.

In knitting news, I started working on Polly's Kiri Shawl in JaggerSpun Zephyr yarn, 50% merino/50% silk in Sage on my Addi size US4's. 1 false start, 1 visit to the frog pond and now 8 pattern repeats in, I seem to have the pattern down. Now if only somebody would magically appear and do all the WS purl stitches for me, I'd be a happy lady...
*The Bear was in no way harmed during my lifetime--he is an antique rug my mother inherited from a good friend who doesn't have room for him but can't bear (har har) to part with him. He lives in the loft of my parent's lake place in comfort with lots of company and the occasional scratch behind the ears.